As Turkish President Abdullah Gul welcomed his guests at a seafront Ottoman palace, Ahmadinejad arrived sporting a broad smile, gave Gul a warm hug and waved to the cameras.
He was accompanied by his new Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, also Iran's nuclear chief, who made his first international appearance here Wednesday at a pre-summit gathering of the 10-member Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
The pair met with Turkish leaders to discuss a second round of talks that Iran would hold with the 5+1 group of world powers over its disputed nuclear programme, expected in late January in Istanbul.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the discussions with the Iranians aimed to ensure that "the positive atmosphere that emerged (at the first round) in Geneva is sustained" in Istanbul.
He refused to claim any mediation role, stressing that Turkey would only host the gathering.
"But if the two sides agree to ask Turkey for any kind of support, we are always ready to give it," he told reporters. "The objective is clear: to free the world and the region from nuclear threats." Turkey's Islamist-rooted government has established close ties with Tehran, insisting on a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row and reluctant to back a tougher line against the Islamic republic, its eastern neighbor.
Turkey will use it to showcase its growing diplomatic assertiveness and project a foreign policy it defines as having "zero problems with neighbors.” Tension is high between Islamabad and Tehran after a mosque bombing in Iran, but Ahmadinejad will be joined at the ECO summit by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, which is fighting Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants, is also attending.
"Turkey is providing a model for these countries in the region, many of which are going nowhere in terms of social peace and economic prosperity," said Semih Idiz, a Turkish foreign policy analyst. "Turkey provides an alternative of political stability, economic growth and regional peace."
In the past decade, Turkey has transformed itself from a financial basket case on the periphery of Europe into one of the world's best-performing economies which now stakes a claim to a regional leadership role.
Gul said regional leaders should work closer to turn ECO into an important corridor for energy, communications and transportation between the East and the West.
"Our region which has been the center of trade for thousands of years among three continents has to return to its glorious days again," he said during his speech in an Ottoman palace on the European shore of the Bosphorus, overlooking the Asian side.
US and Western allies have praised Turkey's role in exporting democracy and economic prosperity in the region, but some allies are concerned the Muslim NATO member might be undermining international efforts to isolate Iran.
ECO promotes regional trade and economic development and its members are Afghanistan‚ Azerbaijan‚ Iran, Kazakhstan‚ Kyrgyzstan‚ Pakistan‚ Tajikistan‚ Turkmenistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
